If you ever want to quickly destroy an organization, just separate the ability to control with the responsibility to control.

Burnout, infighting, and chaos will ensue.

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indymike 4 hours ago | parent | next [-]

Control, responsibility and accountability have to align.

* You should only be accountable for what you are responsible for.

* You should only be responsible for what you have control of.

Bad managers hate this structure because in makes them accountable for themselves and their subordinates and prevents deflection of blame to low level employees.

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cracki 3 hours ago | parent [-]

Please compare and contrast "accountability" and "responsibility".

	▲	Spivak 2 hours ago \| parent [-]
		Responsibility without accountability is that it's your job to make sure something gets done but you don't face any real consequences for not doing it. Accountability without responsibility is "being the final desk." Leadership is usually in this position where they aren't responsible for designing the product but they are accountable if it doesn't happen and they miss targets.

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lowboy 4 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Being responsible for something while having little/no control is so demoralizing & infuriating.

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nlawalker 3 hours ago | parent | next [-]

Ah yes, the need for "influence without authority", i.e. "the real challenge of this project is that you have been organizationally set up to fail, and we expect you to find a way to succeed in spite of that."

	▲	jghn 3 hours ago \| parent [-]
		This is what removed any lingering thoughts I had about moving up the corporate ladder. If in order to succeed I either need to do certain things or at least get other groups to do those things, and if I'm not allowed to do those things, and if no other group is willing to do those things, and if no one above me is going to change the circumstances, why on earth would anyone think this could be successful?

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stego-tech 4 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

As someone once again in such a role, it really is, and it never gets easier.

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exogenousdata 3 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

This is a wonderful, succinct way of capturing this danger to businesses as they grow & jump the gap!